Free Web Novel“Hah. Huff. Oh, my miserable luck.”
Covering the 40-minute distance in just 20 minutes, Roy collapsed the moment he hit the ground. Even an S-class has limits. How could there be so many bugs on this mountain? And why was the slope so steep?
Gasping for breath, he heard the public-address system calling for a missing child.
[Announcement: The Jung-gu Sports Association in Seoul is looking for a 13-year-old child on a field trip. If you have seen or are caring for a boy wearing a black mask, please contact the archery training center immediately. We repeat, please contact the archery training center.]
Not exactly welcome news.
“Ugh...”
With trembling legs, Roy forced himself up. He couldn’t get caught here—Yeonwoo was at the shooting range.
Just see his face and then bolt out.
Roy’s priority was unlocking his Skill Lock. Making friends could wait. But at that moment—
KWAANG! KUGUGUNG!
A massive roar, and one side of the shooting range collapsed. It happened so fast Roy lost his balance and fell again.
“Ah!”
Roy rolled on the ground and glared toward the chaos. A dust cloud drifted up, carrying a foul stench—and through the haze, a flash of red eyes. His S-class senses screamed danger.
He’d felt this before... at Taeeon’s farm.
Blood fiend.
Convinced, Roy sprinted toward the fallen structure. He knew charging in recklessly was unwise—but if Yeonwoo was in danger, he couldn’t wait.
Please let me be wrong.
Arriving at the scene, Roy scanned for life signs. Multiple readings—ordinary people from the shooting range must be caught up in this.
“Hey... cough, cough.”
“What’s happening?”
“Coach, are you all right?”
They looked around, bewildered—which only risked drawing the fiend’s attention. Roy hurried over, motioning them silent as he took in their appearances.
“Shh. Stay quiet, and we need to get everyone to safety first. Is that everyone here?”
His only usable ability was still “God-swriting,” but at least he’d learned how to handle emergencies—first lesson at Awakener School was civilian evacuation. The problem: his youthful appearance made people reluctant to follow.
“Who are you?”
“How did you get in here?”
Like that mattered with lives on the line. He almost walked off without them.
“There’s a blood fiend in the athletes’ village.”
Silence fell. Finally, they understood. Roy decided to reveal himself to reassure them.
“I’m just... an awakened passerby. So don’t shout. When I give the signal, run to the opposite exit.”
As he spoke calmly, Roy sensed rapid footsteps approaching.
“Now!”
He scooped up a chunk of concrete and hurled it at the fiend—at that same instant gunshots rang out.
Ta-ang! Tang! Tang!
Three rounds struck the fiend’s head. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. Roy, witnessing the horror up close, almost lost his mind.
Turning, he saw a gray-clad man slumped, covered head to toe in cement dust.
[Kim Myeongjung]
White embroidery above the Taeguk badge spelled out three syllables.
“Kim Myeongjung...?”
“Is—is that really a blood fiend?”
Myeongjung’s terrified eyes flicked between Roy and the corpse. The stench was nauseating. Relief hit Roy—Yeonwoo was still missing.
“Th-thank you for—”
He tried to sound cool but kept gagging on the odor.
“By the way, did you see Park Yeonwoo? Where’s Yeonwoo-hyung?”
“Yeonwoo? No, I haven’t seen him today...”
Before Roy could protest, a scream sounded nearby. Certain Yeonwoo was there, Roy yanked Myeongjung’s gun free.
“Lend me this!”
“What?! Wait—”
“Sorry!”
He bolted, racing out of the shooting range.
Which way—?
Praying Yeonwoo was unharmed, Roy dashed on—when that familiar stench wafted back and something razor-sharp grazed his forearm.
“Squeeek—”
Arrow?
Looking down, he saw a gleaming golden arrow lying beside the charred fiend’s body. Before he could react, another attack came.
“Dieeee!”
The voice dripped with malice—he must have misread Roy’s red eyes as another fiend.
Thud!
Roy rolled and evaded, then shouted back.
“Wait! I’m not a blood fiend—”
Shieek!
Three arrows flew at once.
“Argh!”
Roy rolled again just in time. The attacker had clearly lost reason. And those arrows were no ordinary arrows—they were golden condensations of light. As far as Roy knew, only one person could wield light that freely.
“Yeonwoo-hyung! Park Yeonwoo, right?”
Blinded by brightness, Roy could barely see—but he knew whose aura it was. That stubborn, rough-spoken golden boy—a talent Jeonseo had foretold would outshine them all. Yeonwoo must have awakened when he faced the fiend, just like Taeeon.
“Park Yeonwoo!”
Light converged on Yeonwoo, dazzling and intense. But this was dangerous.
Shieek—
From within Yeonwoo’s luminous sphere, a volley of arrows shot out.
Ta-dat!
Roy sidestepped a grazing arrow, then sprang up and drove his leg through the sphere’s barrier.
Kwa-gagang!
The barrier shattered like a curtain, booming through the air. Thank whatever gods his timing was off—otherwise his leg would’ve been pulverized.
Finally, Yeonwoo stood revealed. He pulled his bow up, but Roy was quicker.
“Snap out of it, you idiot!”
【Casting Skill ‘God-swriting’.】
Thwack!
Roy’s knife-hand struck Yeonwoo’s crown just as the status window appeared. freewebnoveℓ.com
【Detected scattered ally ‘Park Yeonwoo (Awakened)’.】
【Gather comrades (3/4)】
Yeonwoo indeed. Roy scooped up the unconscious awakened and checked his status frantically.
“Whoa! You got a concussion, or what?”
Yeonwoo was a mess, but clearly hadn’t been harmed by a fiend—aside from the bump rising on his forehead. Roy closed his eyes, focusing ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) on senses alone. No other fiend remained.
He wanted to stay until Yeonwoo woke, but he’d already lost too much time. His hyungs outside must be worried—and Roy was a wanted man in the village. If they found him with Yeonwoo, Yeonwoo might be in worse trouble.
“Hyung, sorry. I have to go first, okay? But... I’ll come back soon. Wait for me.”
Roy whispered farewell to the unconscious Yeonwoo and hurried away.
✧
Meanwhile, Senior 3—who’d barely escaped—dashed toward the village center.
“P-please save me...!”
Murmuring “blood fiend” like a lunatic, he finally ran into some athletes leaving the indoor gym—weightlifters, each carrying a barbell or dumbbell. Senior 3 seized one and babbled. freeweɓnøvel.com
“A blood fiend... it’s here! We’re all gonna die—it’s coming this way...”
Then he collapsed.
“What’s he on about?”
“Does he think he’s dead or something?”
“Wait... didn’t he mention a blood fiend?”
Silence fell—then one of them spotted black smoke billowing from the shooting range.
“Hey, over there!”
They rushed into action.
“You guys alert the coaches and call 119! We’ll go first!”
“Right—be careful!”
Armed with barbells and dumbbells, twenty weightlifters charged uphill. They spotted Yeonwoo lying ahead and shouted.
“There’s someone down there!”
✧
Back on the road, Roy had barely escaped when he collapsed from exhaustion. He couldn’t even wiggle a finger.
“Roy!”
Hojin dashed up and scooped him into his arms—Roy looked like he’d been through torture.
“Man, what happened? What went on inside?”
“Are you hurt?!”
Taeeon arrived, his face paling at Roy’s beaten state.
“It’s nothing major... I just ran into a blood fiend.”
“A blood fiend?”
The mood froze at the words—yet Roy remained casual.
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s handled. We need to get out of here—I’ve been spotted.”
“What?!”
Taeeon peered over the wall; there was commotion beyond.
“Come on, we have to go. Hojin, give me a piggyback. I can’t walk.”
“Hop on.”
Taeeon helped Roy onto Hojin’s back and climbed into the driver’s seat. Dusk had fallen. If a blood fiend showed up in the village, this whole area was danger.
“We’re heading out through the mountain—hang on even if it’s bumpy.”
Roy rode in the back with Hojin. He was bruised all over, not just his arm cut. The brothers’ worried faces spoke volumes. Hojin produced wet wipes from the console and gently cleaned Roy’s wounds.
“Boss, take us to a hospital.”
Roy shook his head.
“No. Hyung, drive straight to Seoul. I can endure this.”
Going to a hospital risked running into people from the village. Better to wait until later.
“No way! You need medical attention now.”
Hojin and Taeeon exchanged frustrated looks—but they knew Roy’s stubbornness all too well. Still, one question had to be asked.
“A blood fiend? Tell us exactly what happened. You didn’t do something reckless like last time, did you?”
Suspicion shone in the rearview mirror—referring to that farm incident when Roy taunted a blood fiend.
“I didn’t. Do you think I have two lives?”
Lying was safer for now. Then Roy thought: the fiends’ sudden appearances and the members’ awakenings—coincidence? Only one member remained: Hangyeol. Perhaps he was next in danger.
